Secure Circuit For Encryption Key Generation

ABSTRACT

Techniques are disclosed relating to relating to a public key infrastructure (PKI). In one embodiment, an integrated circuit is disclosed that includes at least one processor and a secure circuit isolated from access by the processor except through a mailbox mechanism. The secure circuit is configured to generate a key pair having a public key and a private key, and to issue, to a certificate authority (CA), a certificate signing request (CSR) for a certificate corresponding to the key pair. In some embodiments, the secure circuit may be configured to receive, via the mailbox mechanism, a first request from an application executing on the processor to issue a certificate to the application. The secure circuit may also be configured to perform, in response to a second request, a cryptographic operation using a public key circuit included in the secure circuit.

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/730,931, entitled “SECURE CIRCUIT FOR ENCRYPTION KEY GENERATION,”filed Dec. 30, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.No. 16/133,645, entitled “SECURE CIRCUIT FOR ENCRYPTION KEY GENERATION,”filed Sep. 17, 2018 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,523,431), which is adivisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/173,643, entitled “SECURECIRCUIT FOR ENCRYPTION KEY GENERATION,” filed Jun. 4, 2016 (now U.S.Pat. No. 10,079,677), which claims priority to U.S. Provisional App.Nos. 62/276,940, entitled “SECURE CIRCUIT FOR ENCRYPTION KEYGENERATION,” filed Jan. 10, 2016 and 62/171,705, entitled “SECURECIRCUIT FOR ENCRYPTION KEY GENERATION,” filed Jun. 5, 2015; thedisclosures of each of the above-referenced applications areincorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

This disclosure relates generally to processors, and, more specifically,to processors that use public key encryption.

Description of the Related Art

Network traffic communicated over the Internet is often encrypted usingvarious algorithms. One significant algorithm is the RSA algorithm (orsimply RSA) named after the inventors Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, andLeonard Adleman. RSA is an asymmetric cryptographic algorithm thatemploys a key pair, which includes a private key and a public key. Thekeys are generated such that data encrypted with the public key isdecryptable using the private key. Thus, a first person who holds aprivate key can present a public key to a second person and receive datafrom the second person encrypted using the public key. Another propertyof the keys is that data encrypted with the private key is decryptablewith the public key. Thus, a first person can confirm ownership of aprivate key to a second person, by encrypting a known set of data with aprivate key (referred to as generating a signature or signing the data)and allowing the second person to decrypt the known set of data with thepublic key.

Public key encryption can be exploited using a spoofing attack in whicha third person presents a public key alleged to be from the first personand deceives a second person into encrypting data with that key (orbelieving that data signed with the corresponding private key is fromthe first person). In order to reduce the chances of spoofing, variousentities (e.g., Comodo™, Symantec™, etc.) have developed public keyinfrastructures (PKIs). In such an infrastructure, a trusted certificateauthority (CA) issues certificates that confirm the validity of publickeys after verifying the identities of the key holders. To ensure that acertificate is valid, a certificate authority signs the certificateusing its private key and presents its public key to anyone wishing toverify the certificate.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure describes embodiments in which public keyencryption may be used. In one embodiment, an integrated circuit mayinclude a processor and a secure circuit (referred to below as a secureenclave processor (SEP)) isolated from access by the processor exceptthrough a mailbox mechanism. The secure circuit may be configured togenerate and maintain key pairs having a public key and a private key.The secure circuit may also include circuitry for performingcryptographic operations (e.g., encryption, decryption, and signaturegeneration) using the keys.

In some embodiments, in order to attest to the validity of these keys,the secure circuit may issue certificate signing requests (CSR) to acertificate authority (CA) in order to receive correspondingcertificates for these keys. In some embodiments, applications executingon the processor (e.g., third-party applications) may send requests tothe secure circuit that ask it to perform cryptographic operations usingthe certified private keys. In some instances, using certified privatekeys maintained by the secure circuit is more secure thansoftware-generated keys stored in system memory (e.g., uncertified keysgenerated by the applications themselves and potentially exposed tomalicious software).

In some embodiments, the secure circuit may be included in a firstcomputing device and used to unlock functionality on a second computingdevice coupled to the first computing device. In such an embodiment, thesecond computing device may present an authentication challenge to thefirst computing device, the challenge specifying a set of data to besigned by the first computing device. In response to receiving thechallenge, the first computing device may use the secure circuit to signthe data with a key maintained in the secure circuit. In one embodiment,this unlocked functionality may include permitting access toconfidential data stored on the second device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are block diagrams of embodiments of a system that usesa secure enclave processor (SEP) for public key encryption.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a computing deviceincluded within the system and includes a system on a chip (SOC).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the SEP.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a memory that includessoftware components executable by the SEP.

FIG. 5A is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a methodperformed by the SEP.

FIG. 5B is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a methodperformed by an application that interacts with the SEP.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating another embodiment of a methodperformed by the SEP.

This disclosure includes references to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment.” The appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “inan embodiment” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.Particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined inany suitable manner consistent with this disclosure.

Various units, circuits, or other components may be described or claimedas “configured to” perform a task or tasks. In such contexts,“configured to” is used to connote structure by indicating that theunits/circuits/components include structure (e.g., circuitry) thatperforms those task or tasks during operation. As such, theunit/circuit/component can be said to be configured to perform the taskeven when the specified unit/circuit/component is not currentlyoperational (e.g., is not on). The units/circuits/components used withthe “configured to” language include hardware—for example, circuits,memory storing program instructions executable to implement theoperation, etc. Reciting that a unit/circuit/component is “configuredto” perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35U.S.C. § 112(f) for that unit/circuit/component. Additionally,“configured to” can include generic structure (e.g., generic circuitry)that is manipulated by software and/or firmware (e.g., an FPGA or ageneral-purpose processor executing software) to operate in a mannerthat is capable of performing the task(s) at issue. “Configure to” mayalso include adapting a manufacturing process (e.g., a semiconductorfabrication facility) to fabricate devices (e.g., integrated circuits)that are adapted to implement or perform one or more tasks.

As used herein, the terms “first,” “second,” etc. are used as labels fornouns that they precede, and do not imply any type of ordering (e.g.,spatial, temporal, logical, etc.). For example, an application may bedescribed as sending first and second requests. The terms “first” and“second” do not indicate that the first request was an initial requestor that the first request was sent before the second request.

As used herein, the term “based on” is used to describe one or morefactors that affect a determination. This term does not forecloseadditional factors that may affect a determination. That is, adetermination may be solely based on those factors or based, at least inpart, on those factors. Consider the phrase “determine A based on B.”While in this case, B is a factor that affects the determination of A,such a phrase does not foreclose the determination of A from also beingbased on C. In other instances, A may be determined based solely on B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments are described below in which a secure enclaveprocessor (SEP) may be used. FIGS. 1A and 1B present embodiments of asystem that includes the SEP and uses a public key infrastructure. FIG.2 presents one embodiment of a system on a chip (SOC) that includes theSEP. FIG. 3 presents embodiments of hardware components that may beincluded in the SEP. FIG. 4 presents embodiments of software componentsthat may be executed by the SEP. Finally, FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 6 presentembodiments of methods that may be performed in conjunction with theSEP.

Turning now to FIG. 1A, a block diagram of one embodiment of a system 10that uses a public key infrastructure is depicted. In the illustratedembodiment, system 10 includes computing device 100 and a certificateauthority 140. Computing device 100 may correspond to any suitablecomputer system. Accordingly, in some embodiments, device 100 may be amobile device (e.g., a mobile phone, a tablet, personal data assistant(PDA), etc.), desktop computer system, server system, network device(e.g., router, gateway, etc.), microcontroller, etc. In the illustratedembodiment, computing device 100 includes a system on a chip (SOC) 110,biometric sensor 120 (more briefly “biosensor” 120), and memory 130. Asimplied by the name SOC, the components of the SOC 110 may be integratedonto a single semiconductor substrate as an integrated circuit chip. Insome embodiments, the components may be implemented on two or morediscrete chips in a system. As shown, SOC 110 may include a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 112 and a secure enclave processor (SEP) 114.Memory 130 may include one or more applications 132. In someembodiments, system 10 may implement functionality described hereinwithout use of a CA 140.

Secure enclave processor (SEP) 114 is one embodiment of a secure circuitor a secure component. As used herein, the term “secure circuit” refersto a circuit that protects an isolated, internal resource from beingdirectly accessed by an external circuit. This internal resource may bememory that stores sensitive data such as personal information (e.g.,biometric information, credit card information, etc.), encryptions keys,random number generator seeds, etc. This internal resource may also becircuitry that performs services/operations associated with sensitivedata. As will be described below, these services may include variouscryptographic services such as authentication, encryption, decryption,etc. Secure services may include secure key generation, which mayinclude shared secret keys and asymmetric keys (i.e., public and privatekeys). In various embodiments, secure services also include generatingcertificate signing requests (CSRs) 144 for certificates 146 associatedwith generated keys. Generally, a component external to SEP 114 maytransmit a request for a secure service to SEP 114, which may haveinternal circuitry perform the secure service. SEP 114 may then return aresult, which may include data generated by performing the serviceand/or an indication of success/failure of the request. For example, theresult of encryption/decryption may be the encrypted/decrypted dataand/or an indication of a pass/fail. In various embodiments, SEP 114 maydetermine whether to perform a requested service based on identityinformation provided by biosensor 120.

Biosensor 120, in one embodiment, is configured to detect biometric datafor a user of computing device 100. Biometric data may be data thatuniquely identifies the user among other humans (at least to a highdegree of accuracy) based on the user's physical or behavioralcharacteristics. For example, in some embodiments, sensor 120 is afinger print sensor that captures fingerprint data from the user. In oneembodiment, SEP 114 may maintain previously captured fingerprint data ofan authorized user and compare it against newly received fingerprintdata from sensor 120 in order to authenticate a user. (In anotherembodiment, biosensor 120 may perform the comparison.) If thefingerprint data matches, SEP 114 may permit performance of a requestedservice. In some embodiments, communications between SEP 114 andbiosensor 120 may be encrypted using a key shared between SEP 114 andbiosensor 120 such that another circuit (e.g., CPU 112) is unable toview communicated fingerprint data. In some embodiments, other types ofbiometric data may be captured by sensor 120 such as voice recognition(identifying the particular user's voice), iris scanning, etc. It isnoted that SEP 114 may also compare information collected from sourcesother than sensor 120 in order to verify the identity of a user, in someembodiments. Accordingly, computing device 100 may include other userinterface circuits (e.g., a touch screen) configured to receiveauthentication information (e.g., a passcode or password) from a user,and SEP 114 may verify that the received authentication information iscorrect.

Applications 132, in one embodiment, are applications that may useservices of SEP 114 and are executable on CPU 112. (Although depicted asresiding in memory 130 in the illustrated embodiment, applications 132may be located elsewhere in computing device 100 and even externally tocomputing device 100—in such an embodiment, an application 132 mayexecute on another device and may communicate with computing device 100via a network interface of device 100). In various embodiments,applications may include third-party applications (i.e., applicationscreated by an entity that is not a manufacturer of computing device100). Applications 132 may request, for example, that SEP 114 performencryption (and decryption) operations using keys accessible within SEP114 and using dedicated cryptographic circuitry in SEP 114 (discussedwith respect to FIGS. 3 and 4 ). An application 132 may then performvarious operations with the encrypted data such as communicating theencrypted data with an external entity, storing the data locally asprotected data of the application, communicating a secret key as part ofa key exchange, etc. Applications 132 may also request that SEP 114 signpayloads provided by applications 132 with keys accessible in SEP 114.In some embodiments, SEP 114 is configured to store multiple keys, eachassociated with a respective application 132. For example, SEP 114 maymaintain one or more private keys for a banking application 132 and oneor more private keys for an instant messaging application 132. As willbe described below, in various embodiments, applications 132 may furtherrequest that SEP 114 obtain certificates for key pairs generated forapplications 132 (e.g., via certified key requests 142 in theillustrated embodiment).

In various embodiments, SEP 114 is isolated from instructions executableon CPU 112 (e.g., applications 132) except through a mailbox mechanism(described in conjunction with FIGS. 2 and 3 ) in SEP 114. (As usedherein, a mailbox mechanism refers to a memory circuit that temporarilystores 1) an input for a secure circuit until it can be retrieved by thecircuit and/or 2) an output of a secure circuit until it can beretrieved by an external circuit.) In one embodiment, applications 132may request services of SEP 114 via an application programming interface(API) supported by an operating system of computing device 100—i.e.,applications 132 may make API calls that request services of SEP 114.These calls may cause an operating system executing on CPU 112 to writecorresponding requests to the mailbox mechanism, which are thenretrieved and analyzed by SEP 114 to determine whether it should servicethe requests. By isolating SEP 114 in this manner, secrecy of maintainedprivate keys may be enhanced. To obtain private keys, for example, anefarious actor may be required to somehow carefully observe thehardware rather than find a way to break the software.

Privacy certificate authority (CA) 140, in one embodiment, issuescertificates that certify the ownership of public keys and are usable toverify that owners are in possession of the corresponding private keys.In some embodiments, CA 140 may also operate as a registration authority(RA) (or operate in conjunction with an RA, in other embodiments) thatauthenticates an entity, such as SEP 114, before issuing a requestedcertificate. CA 140 may also periodically revoke certificates at therequest of key holders or if their private keys have potentially beencompromised. In one embodiment, CA 140 may be implemented by amanufacturer of computing device 100.

As noted above, in the illustrated embodiment, an application 132 mayinitiate creation of a certificate 146 by sending a certified keyrequest 142 to SEP 114 for a certified key. As used herein, the term“certified key” generally refers to a public key or a private key of akey pair for which a corresponding certificate 146 has been issued. Uponreceiving a key request 142, SEP 114 may, in turn, issue a correspondingcertificate signing request (CSR) 144 for a generated key pair to CA140. After reviewing the CSR 144, CA 140 may issue a correspondingcertificate 146 to computing device 100.

Key requests 142 may include any suitable information. In oneembodiment, a request 142 may specify the application's intended use ofthe key pair. For example, an application 132 may specify that itintends to use the key pair to generate signatures (e.g., using adigital signature algorithm (DSA)), establish transport layer security(TLS) sessions, etc. In some embodiments, a request 142 may also specifyusage criteria that restrict how a key is used. For example, as will bediscussed with FIG. 4 , an application 132 may request that SEP 114verify biometric information from biosensor 120 before performing arequested service using the corresponding private key. In someembodiments, SEP 114 may store in the intended use and usage criteria tofacilitate subsequent management of the key pair.

As used herein, the term “certificate signing request” refers generallyto a request for a trusted authority to verify a collection ofinformation attesting to the validity of a public key pair. Certificatesigning requests 144 may include any suitable information. In oneembodiment, a request 144 includes an identifier of the requestingapplication, the public key, and a signature produced from thecorresponding private key. As will be described below in conjunctionwith FIGS. 3 and 4 , in various embodiments, SEP 114 is configured tosign CSRs 144 with a private, unique identity key for which CA 140 knowsthe corresponding public key. In such an embodiment, CA 140authenticates SEP 114 (or, more generally, computing device 100) byverifying the signature of unique identity key and verifying thesignature of newly generated private key with the public key in the CSR144. In some embodiments, this unique identity key is stored in SEP 114during manufacture of SEP 114 (or, more generally, manufacture ofcomputing device 100). In some embodiments, however, a CSR 144 mayinclude information other than a signature generated by a uniqueidentity key to attest to the validity of the key pair such as a sharedsecret known only to SEP 114 and computer system 140, information abouthardware in SEP 114 or device 100 (e.g., a unique machine ID known onlyto CA 140), information about a user (e.g., user identifier known onlyto CA 140), etc. In some embodiments, the request 144 may furtherinclude the intended use for the key pair and any usage criteria (e.g.,as defined by the key request 142, a manufacturer of computing device100, etc.). In some embodiments, CSRs 144 are in accordance with astandard format such as defined by the public-key cryptography standards(PKCS) #10 specification.

In various embodiments, CA 140 issues a certificate 146 in response tosuccessfully verifying the information in CSR 144. As used herein, theterm “certificate” refers generally to a collection of information(e.g., a token) that can be presented to establish that a trustedauthority has verified information attesting to the validity of apublic-key pair. Certificates 146 may include any of suitableinformation. In one embodiment, a certificate 146 includes an identifierof CA 140, the public key presented in the CSR 144, a period for whenthe certificate is valid, and a signature generated from the certificate146 using a private key held by CA 140. In some embodiments, certificate146 may identify the application 132 for which the certificate isissued. In some embodiments, certificate 146 may further include theintended use for the key pair and any usage criteria for the key pair(e.g., as specified by the corresponding CSR 144). Thus, an entity thatreceives encrypted data (or a digital signature) associated with acertificate 146 can be assured that the data was produced in accordancewith the specified usage criteria (e.g., that biometric data wasverified before key use). In some embodiments, certificates 146 are inaccordance with a standard format such as defined by the X.509 standard.

In various embodiments, CA 140 is further configured to includeinformation about computing device 100 in certificate 146. In someembodiments, this information identifies the presence of particularhardware in computing device 100. For example, in one embodiment,certificate 146 may indicate 1) make and model information about theparticular version of SOC 110, 2) that computing device 100 includes SEP114 and biosensor 120, 3) that SEP 114 includes a public key accelerator(PKA) (such as PKA 230A discussed below with respect to FIG. 3 ), etc.In some embodiments, this information identifies particularfunctionality supported by computing device 100. For example, in oneembodiment, certificate 146 may indicate 1) that device 100 is able tocollect biometric information from a user, 2) that device 100 supportsperforming 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) operations usingdedicated circuitry, etc. In some embodiments, this information aboutdevice 100 may be collected at fabrication and stored in CA 140, so thatthe information is later accessible to CA 140 for inclusion incertificates 146.

In various embodiments, an entity that is interacting with device 100(e.g., through an application 132) may analyze a certificate 146received from device 100 in order to extract the included informationabout device 100. The entity may then choose different courses of actionbased on the presence of this information. For example, upon determiningthat device 100 includes SEP 114 and biosensor 120, the entity may placegreater trust in device 100 and allow a user of device 100 to performvarious activities that would not be permitted if device 100 did notinclude SEP 114 and biosensor 120. Notably, in such an embodiment,device 100 may not be able to tamper with the information in certificate146 because it is inserted by CA 140 and the certificate 146 is thensigned by CA 140. Thus, if the entity trusts CA 140, the entity candetermine that the information about device 100 is accurate as long asit can verify the integrity of the certificate 146.

In various embodiments, certificates 146 do not, however, includeinformation usable to identify computing device 100 in order to protectthe privacy of computing device 100 (and, more specifically, the privacyof the user of computing device 100). For example, computing device 100is not identified in a certificate 146 as the owner of the correspondingpublic key. In such an embodiment, it may also be impossible todetermine, from information in certificates 146, that a correlationexists between certificates 146 issued for the same computing device100. For these reasons, CA 140 is identified as a “privacy” CA in theillustrated embodiment. For these reasons, SEP 114 is also not made anintermediate CA of CA 140, in various embodiments, as certificatesissued from SEP 114 may identify SEP 114 as the issuing entity—thus,allowing computing device 100 to potentially be identified and tracked.

Upon receiving a certificate 146, an application 132 may present thecertificate 146 to an entity with which the application 132 wishes tocommunicate. As noted above, this communication may include the exchangeof encrypted data and/or signatures using private keys maintained by SEP114. As one example, a user may access bank account information using abanking application. Initially, the user may authenticate using a username and password. The application may, however, ask the user if he/sheprefers using biosensor 120 for authentication. If the user indicatesthis preference, the application may issue a certified key request 142to SEP 114 and receive a corresponding certificate 146. The applicationmay further specify in its request 142 that biometric data be collectedand verified prior to using the certified key. When the user attempts touse the banking application again, rather than having the user enter aname and password, the application may issue a request to SEP 114 tohave it generate a signature. SEP 114 may then authenticate the user viabiosensor 120 and generate the signature in response to a successfulauthentication. The application may then present the signature alongwith the certificate 146 to the banking entity, which uses the signatureand certificate to authenticate the user. (It is noted that, ingenerating a signature for authentication, SEP 114 may function in asimilar manner as a smart card.) Authenticating the user in this manneris easier on the user than manually entering in a name and password.Using a private key maintained by SEP 114 can also be more secure thanhaving the application generate and store its own key pair in memory130, which may be vulnerable to malicious discovery.

Turning now to FIG. 1B, a block diagram of another embodiment of system10 is depicted. As noted above, in some embodiments, a secure circuit(e.g., SEP 114) on one device may be used to unlock (i.e., enable)functionality of another, different device. Accordingly, in theillustrated embodiment, computing device 100 may use SEP 114 to unlockfunctionality on external device 160, which may communicate with device100 via a network interface of device 100. In some embodiments, thisnetwork interface is a wireless interface such as one configured tosupport Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi™, a cellular radio access technology, etc.External device 160 may correspond to any suitable device such as thoselisted above with respect to computing device 100. In the illustratedembodiment, privacy CA 140 is not used; however, in other embodiments,CA 140 may be employed.

In some embodiments, this functionality may include access to externaldevice 160. For example, external device 160 may present a login screenasking for a user name and/or password on a display of external device160. Instead of entering this information, a user may enroll in aservice that allows the user to authenticate via computing device 100.When enrolled, devices 100 and 160 may use a challenge response schemeto authenticate device 100 (or, more specifically, a user of device100). In the illustrated embodiment, this scheme includes externaldevice 160 presenting an authentication challenge 162 to device 100. SEP114 may then use an internal key (such as discussed above and below) tosign data in the challenge 162 to produce a signed response 164. Invarious embodiments, before signing the data, SEP 114 may verify usecriteria for the key (e.g., an access control list 426 discussed belowwith FIG. 4 ) to be used in signing the data. Upon receiving response164, external device 160 may verify the signed data in the response 164against the previous data in the challenge 162 in order to verifyauthentication of device 100. If verification is successful, externaldevice 160 may remove the login screen and allow the user to accessdevice 160. (As noted above, when authentication is performed in thismanner, SEP 114 may function as a smart card to verify a user'sidentity.)

In some embodiments, SEP 114 may be used to unlock functionality otherthan mere access to external device 100. Accordingly, in the illustratedembodiment, external device 160 may store various forms of confidentialdata 170 in a secure manner (e.g., via encryption, memory isolation,etc.). This data 170 may include keychain data (e.g., user names andpasswords), bank account information, user contact information, etc. Insuch an embodiment, SEP 114 may be used to unlock access to this data170 via challenge 162 and response 164. For example, in one embodiment,upon authenticating device 100, external device 160 may decrypt aportion of confidential data 170 and present the data to the user. (Inanother embodiment, external device 160 may send the portion of data 170to device 100 for decryption at SEP 114 using a key maintained by SEP114.) In some embodiments, unlocked functionality may include executionof particular applications. For example, external device 160 may notpermit access to a mail application unless an authentication with device100 has been performed. In some embodiments, unlocked functionality mayinclude use of particular hardware—e.g., a network interface of device160, a storage device of device 160, etc.

Turning now to FIG. 2 , a block diagram of SOC 110 is shown coupled to amemory 130. In the illustrated embodiment, SOC 110 includes CPU 112, SEP114, a memory controller 250, peripheral components 260A-260N (morebriefly, ‘peripherals 260’ or ‘peripheral components 260’), and acommunication fabric 270. The components 112, 114, 250, and 260 may allbe coupled to the communication fabric 270. The memory controller 250may be coupled to the memory 130. As shown, CPU 112 may include one ormore processors (P 240 in FIG. 2 ). In the illustrated embodiment, SEP114 includes one or more processors 210, a secure ROM 220, and one ormore security peripherals 230. SEP 114 may, however, include any desiredcircuitry (e.g. cryptographic hardware, hardware that acceleratescertain operations that are used in cryptographic functions, etc.).Accordingly, although depicted with a processor 210, in otherembodiments, a processor may not be included.

SEP processor 210 may execute securely loaded software. For example, asecure read-only memory (ROM) 220 may include software executable by SEPprocessor 210. One or more of the security peripherals 230 may have anexternal interface, which may be connected to a source of software (e.g.a non-volatile memory such as Flash memory). In another embodiment, thesource of software may be a non-volatile memory coupled to anotherperipheral 230, and the software may be encrypted to avoid observationby a third party. The software from the source may be authenticated orotherwise verified as secure, and may be executable by SEP processor210. In some embodiments, software may be loaded into a trust zone inmemory 130 that is assigned to the SEP 114, and SEP processor 210 mayfetch the software from the trust zone for execution. The software maybe stored in the memory 130 in encrypted form to avoid observation.Despite the steps taken to ensure security of the secure software, thesecure software may still be prevented from directly accessing/obtainingstored private keys. Only hardware may have access to private keys, inan embodiment.

As noted above, SEP 114 may be isolated from the rest of the SOC 110except for a carefully controlled interface (thus forming a secureenclave for SEP processor 210, secure ROM 220, and security peripherals230). Because the interface to SEP 114 is carefully controlled, directaccess to SEP processor 210, secure ROM 220, and security peripherals230 may be prevented. In one embodiment, a secure mailbox mechanism maybe implemented. In the secure mailbox mechanism, external devices maytransmit messages to an inbox. SEP processor 210 may read and interpretthe message, determining the actions to take in response to the message.Response messages from the SEP processor 210 may be transmitted throughan outbox, which is also part of secure mailbox mechanism 320. Otherinterfaces that permit only the passing of commands/requests from theexternal components and results to the external components may be used.No other access from the external devices to SEP 114 may be permitted,and thus the SEP 114 may be “protected from access”. More particularly,software executed anywhere outside SEP 114 may be prevented from directaccess to the secure components with the SEP 114. SEP processor 210 maydetermine whether a command is to be performed. In some cases, thedetermination of whether or not to perform the command may be affectedby the source of the command. That is, a command may be permitted fromone source but not from another.

Security peripherals 230 may be hardware configured to assist in thesecure services performed by SEP 114. As will be described with respectto FIG. 3 , security peripherals 230 may include authentication hardwareimplementing/accelerating various authentication algorithms, encryptionhardware configured to perform/accelerate encryption, secure interfacecontrollers configured to communicate over a secure interface to anexternal (to SOC 110) device, etc.

As mentioned above, CPU 112 may include one or more processors 240.Generally, a processor may include circuitry configured to executeinstructions defined in an instruction set architecture implemented bythe processor. Processors 240 may include (or correspond to) processorcores implemented on an integrated circuit with other components as asystem on a chip (SOC 110) or other levels of integration. Processors240 may further include discrete microprocessors, processor cores and/ormicroprocessors integrated into multichip module implementations,processors implemented as multiple integrated circuits, etc.

Processors 240 may execute the main control software of the system, suchas an operating system. Generally, software executed by CPU 112 duringuse may control the other components of the system to realize thedesired functionality of the system. The processors may also executeother software, such as applications 132. These applications may provideuser functionality, and may rely on the operating system for lower-leveldevice control, scheduling, memory management, etc. Accordingly,processors 240 (or CPU 112) may also be referred to as applicationprocessors. CPU 112 may further include other hardware such as an L2cache and/or an interface to the other components of the system (e.g. aninterface to the communication fabric 270).

Memory controller 250 may generally include the circuitry for receivingmemory operations from the other components of SOC 110 and for accessingthe memory 130 to complete the memory operations. Memory controller 250may be configured to access any type of memory 130. For example, memory130 may be static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM) suchas synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) including double data rate (DDR, DDR2, DDR3,DDR4, etc.) DRAM. Low power/mobile versions of the DDR DRAM may besupported (e.g. LPDDR, mDDR, etc.). Memory controller 250 may includequeues for memory operations, for ordering (and potentially reordering)the operations and presenting the operations to the memory 130. Thememory controller 250 may further include data buffers to store writedata awaiting write to memory and read data awaiting return to thesource of the memory operation. In some embodiments, memory controller250 may include a memory cache to store recently accessed memory data.In SOC implementations, for example, the memory cache may reduce powerconsumption in the SOC by avoiding reaccess of data from the memory 130if it is expected to be accessed again soon. In some cases, the memorycache may also be referred to as a system cache, as opposed to privatecaches such as the L2 cache or caches in the processors, which serveonly certain components. Additionally, in some embodiments, a systemcache need not be located within the memory controller 250.

Peripherals 260 may be any set of additional hardware functionalityincluded in SOC 110. For example, peripherals 260 may include videoperipherals such as an image signal processor configured to processimage capture data from a camera or other image sensor, displaycontrollers configured to display video data on one or more displaydevices, graphics processing units (GPUs), video encoder/decoders,scalers, rotators, blenders, etc. Peripherals 260 may include audioperipherals such as microphones, speakers, interfaces to microphones andspeakers, audio processors, digital signal processors, mixers, etc.Peripherals 260 may include interface controllers for various interfacesexternal to SOC 110 including interfaces such as Universal Serial Bus(USB), peripheral component interconnect (PCI) including PCI Express(PCIe), serial and parallel ports, etc. Peripherals 260 may includenetworking peripherals such as media access controllers (MACs). Any setof hardware may be included.

Communication fabric 270 may be any communication interconnect andprotocol for communicating among the components of SOC 110.Communication fabric 270 may be bus-based, including shared busconfigurations, cross bar configurations, and hierarchical buses withbridges. Communication fabric 270 may also be packet-based, and may behierarchical with bridges, cross bar, point-to-point, or otherinterconnects.

It is noted that the number of components of the SOC 110 (and the numberof subcomponents for those shown in FIG. 2 , such as within the CPU 112and SEP 114) may vary from embodiment to embodiment. There may be moreor fewer of each component/subcomponent than the number shown in FIG. 2.

Turning now to FIG. 3 , a block diagram of SEP 114 in greater detail isshown. In the illustrated embodiment, SEP 114 includes the SEP processor210, secure ROM 220, security peripherals 230A-230E, filter 310, securemailbox 320, a key storage 330, and fuses 332. Filter 310 may be coupledto communication fabric 270 and to a local interconnect 350 to which theother components of SEP 114 are also coupled Like communication fabric270, local interconnect 350 may have any configuration (bus-based,packet-based, hierarchical, point-to-point, cross bar, etc.). Securityperipheral 230A is public key accelerator (PKA), which may include asequencer 342, a PKA intellectual property (IP) circuit 344, and a PKAmemory 346. Sequencer 342 may be coupled to interconnect 350, secureperipherals 230B-230C, and PKA IP circuit 344. PKA IP circuit 344 may beconfigured to receive private keys from key storage 330 and/or fuses332. SEP processor 210 is coupled to secure mailbox 320.

Filter 310 may be configured to tightly control access to SEP 114 toincrease the isolation of the SEP 114 from the rest of the SOC 110, andthus the overall security of the SOC 110. More particularly, in oneembodiment, filter 310 may permit read/write operations from thecommunication fabric 270 to enter SEP 114 only if the operations addressthe secure mailbox 320. Other operations may not progress from thefabric 270 into SEP 114. Even more particularly, filter 310 may permitwrite operations to the address assigned to the inbox portion of securemailbox 320, and read operations to the address assigned to the outboxportion of the secure mailbox 320. All other read/write operations maybe prevented by the filter 310. In some embodiments, filter 310 mayrespond to other read/write operations with an error. In one embodiment,filter 310 may sink write data associated with a filtered writeoperation without passing the write data on to local interconnect 350.In an embodiment, filter 310 may supply nonce data as read data for afiltered read operation. Nonce data may generally be data that is notassociated with the addressed resource within the SEP 114. Nonce data issometimes referred to as “garbage data.” Filter 310 may supply any dataas nonce data (e.g. all zeros, all ones, random data from a randomnumber generator, data programmed into filter 310 to respond as readdata, the address of the read transaction, etc.).

In various embodiments, filter 310 may only filter incoming read/writeoperations. Thus, the components of the SEP 114 may have full access tothe other components of SOC 110 and memory 130. Accordingly, filter 310may not filter responses from fabric 270 that are provided in responseto read/write operations issued by SEP 114.

Secure mailbox 320 may include an inbox and an outbox. Both the inboxand the outbox may be first-in, first-out buffers (FIFOs) for data. Thebuffers may have any size (e.g. any number of entries, where each entryis capable of storing data from a read/write operation). Particularly,the inbox may be configured to store write data from write operationssourced from the fabric 270 (e.g. issued by one of processors 240). Theoutbox may store write data from write operations sourced by processor210 (which may be read by read operations sourced from fabric 270, e.g.read operations issued by one of CPU processors 240).

Secure ROM 220 is coupled to local interconnect 350, and may respond toan address range assigned to secure ROM 220 on the local interconnect350. The address range may be hardwired, and processor 210 may behardwired to fetch from the address range at boot in order to boot fromsecure ROM 220. Filter 310 may filter addresses within the address rangeassigned to secure ROM 220 (as mentioned above), preventing access tosecure ROM 220 from components external to the SEP 114. As mentionedpreviously, secure ROM 220 may include the boot code for the SEP 114.Additionally, in some embodiments, secure ROM 220 may include othersoftware executed by SEP processor 210 during use. This software mayinclude the code to process inbox messages and generate outbox messages,code to interface to the security peripherals 230A-230E, etc. As will bedescribed below with respect to FIG. 4 , this software may include codefor generating keys, managing keys, and generating certificate signingrequests (CSRs) 144. In an embodiment, secure ROM 220 may store all thecode that is executed by SEP processor 210 during use.

SEP processor 210 may process commands received from various sources inthe SOC 110 (e.g. from processors 240) and may use various secureperipherals to accomplish the commands. In the case of commands thatinvolve private keys, SEP processor 210 may provide the command to PKA230A (and more particularly to sequencer 342). Sequencer 342 may includecircuitry that decodes the command and generates a series of subcommandsto implement the command. In an embodiment, sequencer 342 may include aread-only memory (ROM) that stores sequences of subcommands for eachcommand supported by the PKA 230A. Other embodiments may employ hardwaredecoding, or a combination of hardware decoding and ROM implementations.

The subcommands may include subcommands for PKA IP circuit 344, whichmay perform operations that manipulate private keys and otheroperations. The subcommands may further include subcommands foroperations performed by other SPs 230. Accordingly, in the illustratedembodiment, subcommands may be performed by random number generatorcircuit 230B and authentication circuit 230C. Sequencer 342 may becoupled to SPs 230B-230C, and may arbitrate or otherwise coordinateaccess to SPs 230-230C with processor 210.

In the illustrated embodiment, storage 330 and fuses 332 store privatekeys that are retrievable by PKA IP 344. In one embodiment, key storage330 is a non-volatile memory that stores keys generated by SEP 114. Insome embodiments, key storage 330 is configured to be written viainterconnect 350, but may be read only by PKA 230A. In variousembodiments, keys in storage 330 may be encrypted PKA 230A until theyare needed by PKA 230A. In some embodiments, decrypting keys in storage330 may require PKA 230A receiving a portion of a key from an externalsource—e.g., biometric information, a user's passcode, information froman application 132 (e.g., a password of the application 132), etc. Asdescribed below with FIG. 4 , keys may also be wrapped with (i.e.,encrypted with) an access control list that indicates usage criteria forkeys. In one embodiment, fuses 332 may maintain one or more keys thatare stored at fabrication of SEP 114. That is, a key may be set byburning out ones of fuses 332. In the illustrated embodiment, one ofthese keys includes a unique identity (UID) key stored by themanufacturer of SEP 114. As noted above and described with FIG. 4 , thiskey may be used to sign CSR requests 144. In some embodiments, keystorage may be implemented differently than shown. For example, in oneembodiment, the UID key may be stored in key storage 330 rather than viafuses 332.

PKA IP circuit 344 may generate various intermediate results duringoperation and may write the results to PKA memory 346. PKA memory 346may further include a ROM that may store command sequences and otherinformation used by PKA IP circuit 344. Accordingly, in some cases,memory 346 may store private keys or values derived from private keys inkey storage 330 and fuses 332. To further enhance security, eachsubcommand sequence from sequencer 342 may include subcommands performedafter the result is determined for a given command, to overwrite thememory locations in memory 346 that were used during processing of thegiven command. Any data may be written. For example, in an embodiment,zeros may be written. Alternatively, ones may be written, or any otherdata pattern may be used. Different patterns may be written at differenttimes.

Any set of commands to PKA 230A may be supported. For example, in anembodiment, one or more of the following commands may be supported:public key extraction (with returns a public key from storage 330 orfuses 332), digital signature generation, digital hash, encryption, anddecryption. In an embodiment, the public key extraction, digitalsignature generation, and digital hash may be elliptical-curveDiffie-Hellman operations. The encryption and decryption may be RSAencryption-based. Each command may be sequenced into multiplesubcommands for PKA IP circuit 344, the authentication circuit 230C,and/or the random number generator 230B.

Authentication circuit 230C may implement an authentication algorithm.For example, authentication circuit 230C may implement secure hashalgorithms (SHA) such as SHA-1 or SHA-2, or any other authenticationalgorithms. Random number generator 230B may include any circuitry forgenerating a random or pseudo-random number. A source of randomness(e.g. temperature) may be used to improve the randomness of thegeneration. There may be various other security peripherals 230D.

In addition to security peripherals designed to perform specificfunctions, there may also be security peripherals that are interfaceunits for secure interfaces such as the secure interface unit 230E. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the secure interface unit 230E may be aninterface to an off SOC 110 (“off-chip”) secure memory. For example, theinterface may an interface to an off SOC Smart Card.

The security peripherals 230B-230E may have programming interfaces,which may be used by SEP processor 210 (and more particularly bysoftware executing on SEP processor 210) to invoke security peripherals230B-230E to perform a particular task. For example, the peripherals mayinclude a register that may be read and written to control operation ofthe security peripherals. The peripherals may include a commandinterface that receives and interprets write operations as commands tobe performed. Any interface for invoking the security peripherals may beused.

Turning now to FIG. 4 , a block diagram of secure ROM 220 is depicted.As noted above, secure ROM 220 may include software executable by SEP114 (and, more specifically, processor 210) to implement functionalityof SEP 114. In the illustrated embodiment, ROM 220 includes programinstructions for a key manager 410, key generator 420, and CSR generator430. In another embodiment, software components 410-430 may be locatedin a secure zone of memory 130. In other embodiments, softwarecomponents 410-430 may be located in other suitable forms ofnon-transitory computer readable media. Generally speaking, a computerreadable medium may include, for example, magnetic or optical media(e.g., disk (fixed or removable), tape, CD-ROM, DVD, or Blu-Ray),volatile or non-volatile memory media (e.g., synchronous dynamic RAM(SDRAM), Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), ROM, or Flash memory).

Key manager 410, in one embodiment, is executable to manage use ofprivate keys 424. In the illustrated embodiment, key manager 410receives use requests 412 (i.e., requests to perform operations usingstored private keys 424) and corresponding data 414 from applications132 via secure mailbox 320. Upon receiving a request 412 to a use a key424, key manager 410 may determine the corresponding intended use andusage criteria, which, in the illustrated embodiment, are stored asaccess control lists 426. Key manager 410 may then verify that therequested operation is accordance with the intended use and that theusage criteria have been satisfied. In response to a successfulverification, key manager 410 may issue one or more correspondingcommands to PKA 230A along with data 414 to cause it to perform therequested operation on the data 414. Key manager 410 may then return theresult of the operation as data 414 to the requesting application 132.In response to an unsuccessful verification, key manager 410 may senddata 414 indicating a failure to service the request 412.

Access control lists 426 may correspond to any of various usagecriteria. As noted above, these criteria may include the requirement forusing biosensor 120 when a key 424 is to be used. Accordingly, in someembodiments, key manager 410 may issue a request for biosensor 120 tocollect biometric data, and key manager 410 (or another element withinSEP 114) may verify the captured biometric data. In one embodiment,manager's 410 may issue this request to the initial applicationsubmitting the request 412. The application 132 may, in turn, activatesensor 120 and present a corresponding prompt soliciting action from theuser. Once biometric information is received at sensor 120, sensor 120may convey the biometric information via an encrypted connection withSEP 114 for analysis by manager 410. In embodiments in which fingerprint data is collected, the usage criteria may specify the particularfinger (or fingers) to be verified. For example, an access control list426 may specify that only verification of a thumb permits use of aprivate key 424. In some embodiments, an access control list 426 mayfurther specify a particular ordering of fingers—e.g., that the rightthumb must be verified first and then the right index finger before usea private key 424 is permitted. As noted above, these usage criteria mayinclude a requirement for collecting a passcode when a key is to beused. Accordingly, in some embodiments, key manager 410 may issue arequest for a touch screen interface to present a passcode menu to auser, and key manager 410 (or another element within SEP 114) may verifythe captured passcode. In some embodiments, these usage criteria mayspecify that at least one of multiple requirements be met—e.g.,successfully verified biometric data or a successfully verifiedpasscode. In some embodiments, these usage criteria may specify multiplerequirements to be met—e.g., successfully verified biometric data and asuccessfully verified passcode.

In some embodiments, key manager 410 may also perform roles other thanservicing requests 412. For example, in one embodiment, key manager 410may invalidate keys for revoked certificates 146 or expired certificates146. In some embodiments, invalidating a key may include setting a flagin key storage 330 or deleting a key from storage 330 (e.g., byoverwriting the key with zeros). In one embodiment, key manager 410 mayalso invalidate keys 424 at the request of applications 132. In oneembodiment, key manager 410 may also invalidate keys 424 if thebiometric data stored by SEP 114 for authentication purposes changes.

Key generator 420, in one embodiment, is executable to generate keypairs having a respective public key 422 and a respective private key424. In the illustrated embodiment, key generator 420 generates a keypair in response to receiving a certified key request 142 via mailbox320. Although a single request 142 is shown, in other embodiments, keygenerator 420 may receive separate requests for key generation andcertification—e.g., a first request from an application 132 to create akey pair for the application 132 and a second request from theapplication 132 to obtain a certificate for the key pair.) Keys 422 and424 may be generated in software, hardware, or a combination thereof.Accordingly, in one embodiment, key generator 420 may receive randomprime numbers from RNG 230B and use the numbers to compute a key pair.In another embodiment, key generator 420 may merely serve as a driver,which issues corresponding requests to dedicated hardware that generateskeys 422 and 424. In the illustrated embodiment, key generator 420provides public keys 422 to CSR generator 430 and stores private keys424 in key storage 330. In such an embodiment, key generator 420 storesprivate keys with their respective access control lists 426. As notedabove, in some embodiments, keys 424 may be encrypted together withtheir respective access control lists 426 (i.e., wrapped together) sothat 1) key manager 410 can easily determine what operations arepermissible for a given key and 2) it is more difficult to separate akey 424 from its corresponding list 426. In other embodiments, keys 422and 424 may be communicated differently.

CSR generator 430, in one embodiment, is executable to generate CSRs 144for received public keys 422. Accordingly, CSR generator 430 mayaggregate various information (such as the examples given above withrespect to FIG. 1 ) and assemble the information into a CSR 144, whichis issued to CA 140. In the illustrated embodiment, CSR generator 430communicates with PKA 230A to obtain a private key signature 432generated from the private key 424 associated with the CSR 144. Once aCSR 144 is assembled, CSR generator 430 may further ask PKA 230A to signthe CSR 144 with UID key 432 and obtain a corresponding UID keysignature 434. As discussed above, CA 140 may use UID key signature 434to verify the identity of SEP 114 before issuing the certificate 146requested by the CSR 144. In other embodiments, CSR generator 430 maycollect information for assembly of CSR 144 in a different manner thanshown.

Turning now to FIG. 5A, a flow diagram of method 500 for obtaining acertificate is depicted. Method 500 is one embodiment of a method thatmay be performed by a secure circuit, which may be included in anintegrated circuit such as SEP 114 included in SOC 110. In someinstances, performance of method 500 may provide a more secure way touse asymmetric keys for authentication and encryption.

In step 510, a secure circuit generates a key pair having a public key(e.g., public key 422) and a private key (e.g., private key 424). Invarious embodiment, step 510 may include using software (e.g., keygenerator 420) and/or hardware (e.g., RNG 230B) within the securecircuit to generate the key pair. In some embodiments, step 510 mayinclude receive, via a mailbox mechanism (e.g., mailbox 320), a firstrequest from an application (e.g., a request 142 from an application132) that asks to issue a certificate (e.g., certificate 146) to theapplication.

In step 520, the secure circuit issues a certificate signing request(CSR) (e.g., CSR 144) issue to a certificate authority (CA) (e.g., CA140) for a certificate corresponding to the key pair. In someembodiments, step 520 includes the secure circuit signing the CSR withthe identity key (e.g., UID key 432) that is securely stored in a memory(e.g., key storage 330 or fuses 332) of the secure circuit. In oneembodiment, the identity key is stored during fabrication of the securecircuit (e.g., by burning fuses 332).

In some embodiments, method 500 may include additional steps to thoseshown. In one embodiment, method 500 may include the secure circuitreceiving, from the application via the mailbox mechanism, a secondrequest (e.g., use request 412) to perform a cryptographic operationwith the private key on a set of data (e.g., data 414) from theapplication, and the secure circuit may, in response to the secondrequest, perform the cryptographic operation using a public key circuit(e.g., PKA 230A) included in the secure circuit. In various embodiment,the cryptographic operation generates a signature from the set of data,the signature being usable to authenticate the application to a remoteservice associated with the application. In some embodiments, thecertificate issued for the CSR specifies use criteria for thecertificate, and the secure circuit verifies (e.g., via key manager 410)that the cryptographic operation is in accordance with the use criteriaprior to performing the cryptographic operation. In one embodiment, thesecure circuitry may verify that biometric information (e.g., receivedfrom biosensor 120) belongs to an authorized user prior to performingthe cryptographic operation.

Turning now to FIG. 5B, a flow diagram of a method 550 for usingcertified keys. Method 550 is one embodiment of a method that may beperformed by an application interacting with a secure circuit such asapplications 132. In some instances, performance of method 550 mayprovide a more secure way for an application to use asymmetric keys.

In step 560, an application requests (e.g., via key request 142)creation of a certified key (e.g., private key 424) at a secure circuit(e.g., SEP 114). In such an embodiment, the secure circuit requests(e.g., via CSR 144) a certificate for the key from a certificateauthority (e.g., CA 140) and stores the certified key in a memory (e.g.,key storage 330) that is inaccessible to a processor (e.g., CPU 112)that executes the application. In some embodiment, step 560 includesissuing an application programming interface (API) call to an operatingsystem of the computing device (e.g., computing device 100), where theoperating system issues a corresponding request to a processor (e.g.,processor 210) of the secure circuit via a mailbox mechanism (e.g.,secure mailbox 320) of the secure circuit.

In step 570, the application receives a certificate (e.g., certificate146) of the certified key. In one embodiment, the application receivesthe certificate from the secure circuit, which receives the certificatefrom the certificate authority. In another embodiment, the applicationreceives the certificate directly from the certificate authority.

In step 580, the application presenting the certificate to an entityexternal to the computing device. In some embodiments, the applicationalso presents a signature to the entity that is generated by the securecircuit using the certified key. The entity may then authenticate a userof the application by verifying the signature against the presentedcertificate.

Turning now to FIG. 6 , a method 600 for performing cryptographicoperations using generated keys is depicted. Method 600 is oneembodiment of a method that may be performed by a secure circuit, whichmay be included in a computing device such as SEP 114 within computingdevice 100. In some instances, performance of method 600 may provide amore secure way for an application to use cryptographic keys.

In step 610, a public key and a private key (e.g., keys 422 and 424) aregenerated for an application (e.g., an application 132). In someembodiments, step 610 may be performed in response to a request from theapplication via an application programming interface (API). In such anembodiment, the API may allow access to the secure circuit via a mailboxmechanism of the circuit (e.g., secure mailbox 320). The API may also besupported by an operating system of the computing device that isexecutable to write an instruction to an address of the mailbox to causethe secure circuit to generate the keys. In some embodiments, theapplication may also request a certificate corresponding to the publickey and the private key. In such an embodiment, the secure circuit mayissue, to a certificate authority (CA), a certificate signing request(CSR) for the certificate.

In step 620, a request to perform a cryptographic operation using theprivate key is received from the application via an applicationprogramming interface (API). In such an embodiment, the request may bean API call that causes the operating system to write an instruction toan address of the mailbox to cause the secure circuit to perform therequested operation. In some embodiments, the private key may be storedwith an access control list (e.g., an access control list 426) thatdefines criteria for permitting use of the private key. In such anembodiment, the secure circuit may verify that the criteria aresatisfied prior to performing the cryptographic operation. In someembodiments, a network interface of the computing device receives therequest from the application via a network connection with an externaldevice (i.e., a device external to computing device 100).

In step 630, the cryptographic operation is performed in response to therequest. This operation may include encryption, decryption, signaturegeneration, etc. In some embodiments, step 630 may include the securecircuit communicating a corresponding result from the cryptographicoperation to the application. In one embodiment, this result may bereturned via the API—e.g., the secure circuit may invoke an interrupt ofthe operating system that causes the operating system to retrieve theresult from the mailbox and deliver it to the application as a responseto the API call.

Various embodiments of systems and methods for using public keyencryption are contemplated based on the preceding description,including, but not limited to, the embodiments listed below.

In one embodiment, a method comprises an application in a computingdevice requesting creation of a certified key at a secure circuit thatis configured to request a certificate for the key from a certificateauthority and to store the certified key in a memory that isinaccessible to a processor that executes the application. The methodfurther comprises the application receiving a certificate of thecertified key and the application presenting the certificate to anentity external to the computing device. In some embodiments, the methodcomprises the application presenting a signature to the entity. Thesignature is generated by the secure circuit using the certified key,and wherein the entity is able to authenticate a user of the applicationby verifying the signature against the presented certificate. In someembodiments, the requesting includes issuing an application programminginterface (API) call to an operating system of the computing device,wherein the operating system issues a corresponding request to aprocessor of the secure circuit via a mailbox mechanism of the securecircuit. In some embodiments, the certificate includes information thatidentifies one or more hardware circuits present in the computingdevice. In one embodiment, the certificate identifies the secure circuitas being included in the computing device.

Although specific embodiments have been described above, theseembodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the presentdisclosure, even where only a single embodiment is described withrespect to a particular feature. Examples of features provided in thedisclosure are intended to be illustrative rather than restrictiveunless stated otherwise. The above description is intended to cover suchalternatives, modifications, and equivalents as would be apparent to aperson skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

The scope of the present disclosure includes any feature or combinationof features disclosed herein (either explicitly or implicitly), or anygeneralization thereof, whether or not it mitigates any or all of theproblems addressed herein. Accordingly, new claims may be formulatedduring prosecution of this application (or an application claimingpriority thereto) to any such combination of features. In particular,with reference to the appended claims, features from dependent claimsmay be combined with those of the independent claims and features fromrespective independent claims may be combined in any appropriate mannerand not merely in the specific combinations enumerated in the appendedclaims.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A non-transitory computer readable medium havingprogram instructions stored therein that are executable by a device toperform operations comprising: sending, by an application, a keycreation request for a secure circuit of the device to create acryptographic key associated with the application and protected by abiometric authentication performed by the secure circuit for theapplication; sending, by the application, a use request for the securecircuit to perform a cryptographic service using the protectedcryptographic key; and receiving, by the application, a result of thecryptographic service in response to a successful biometricauthentication.
 22. The computer readable medium of claim 21, whereinthe key creation request specifies usage criteria that restrict how theprotected cryptographic key is used; and wherein one of the usagecriteria is the secure circuit verifying biometric information from abiosensor before performing a requested service using the protectedcryptographic key.
 23. The computer readable medium of claim 21, whereinthe key creation request is a request for a certified public key pair,and wherein the operations further comprise: receiving, by theapplication, a certificate obtained by the secure circuit for thecertified public key pair and from a certificate authority, wherein thecertificate includes a public key of the pair, and wherein the protectedcryptographic key is a private key of the pair.
 24. The computerreadable medium of claim 23, wherein the certificate includes anapplication identifier of the application.
 25. The computer readablemedium of claim 23, wherein the certificate indicates an ability toperform the biometric authentication.
 26. The computer readable mediumof claim 21, wherein the operations further comprise: prior to sendingthe key creation request: performing an authentication using a user nameand password of a user; receiving an indication of a user preference toperform a different type of authentication, wherein the key creationrequest is sent in response to the received indication; and performing asubsequent authentication for the user that includes: the applicationsending the use request of the cryptographic service; and theapplication providing the received result of the cryptographic serviceto an external entity in lieu of the user name and password.
 27. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the operations furthercomprise: providing the result of the cryptographic service to anotherdevice to unlock functionality of the other device.
 28. The computerreadable medium of claim 21, wherein the cryptographic service includessigning a payload provided by the application and using the protectedcryptographic key.
 29. The computer readable medium of claim 21, whereinthe cryptographic service includes an encryption or a decryptionperformed by the secure circuit using the protected cryptographic key.30. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the requests aresent via an application programing interface (API) supported by anoperating system of the device.
 31. The computer readable medium ofclaim 21, wherein the requests are sent to a mailbox circuit of thesecure circuit.
 32. A method, comprising: sending, by an applicationexecuting on a device, a key creation request for a secure circuit ofthe device to create a cryptographic key associated with the applicationand protected by a biometric authentication performed by the securecircuit for the application; sending, by the application, a use requestfor the secure circuit to perform a cryptographic service using theprotected cryptographic key; and receiving, by the application, a resultof the cryptographic service in response to a successful biometricauthentication.
 33. The method of claim 32, wherein the key creationrequest includes usage criteria specified by the application to restricthow the protected cryptographic key is used including a requirement toperform the biometric authentication before using the protectedcryptographic key.
 34. The method of claim 32, further comprising: inresponse to the key creation request, receiving, by the application, acertificate obtained by the secure circuit for a certified public keypair, wherein the certificate includes a public key of the pair, andwherein the protected cryptographic key is a private key of the pair.35. The method of claim 32, further comprising: prior to sending the keycreation request: performing, by the application, an authentication fora user using a user credential supplied by the user; receiving, by theapplication, an indication of a preference of the user to perform adifferent type of authentication, wherein the key creation request issent in response to the received indication; and performing a subsequentauthentication for the user that includes: the application sending theuse request of the cryptographic service; and the application providingthe received result of the cryptographic service to an external entity.36. The method of claim 32, wherein the use request is a request to signdata provided by the application and using the protected cryptographickey.
 37. The method of claim 32, wherein the use request is a request toencrypt or decrypt data provided by the application and using theprotected cryptographic key.
 38. A non-transitory computer readablemedium having program instructions stored therein that are executable bya device to implement an application programing interface (API) thatperforms operations comprising: receiving, from an application, a keycreation request for a secure circuit of the device to create acryptographic key associated with the application and protected by abiometric authentication performed by the secure circuit for theapplication; receiving, by the application, a use request for the securecircuit to perform a cryptographic service using the protectedcryptographic key; and sending, to the application, a result of thecryptographic service in response to a successful biometricauthentication.
 39. The computer readable medium of claim 38, whereinthe operations further comprise: providing the requests to a mailboxcircuit of the secure circuit.
 40. The computer readable medium of claim38, wherein the application programing interface (API) is implemented byan operating system of the device.